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Soroush Pour

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  • Are Automakers Ready for 54.5 Miles per Gallon?

    By Soroush Pour - September 4, 2012 | Tickers: F, GM, HMC, TM

    A few days ago, the good ‘ole duo of the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declared that fuel efficiency standards in the U.S. were going up – way up.  Existing standards require all new cars and small trucks to meet a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 34.5 miles per gallon by 2016, and the new announcement increases this mark to 54.5 mpg by 2025 more »

  • Google: Large and Growing, But Still Not Evil

    By Soroush Pour - September 1, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, AAPL, FB, GOOG, MSFT

    By Denis Hurley

    “Don’t be evil” is Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) informal corporate motto. Yet, massive and dominant corporations find it difficult to escape being labeled “evil” at some point or another. As Google moves swiftly into markets adjacent to its core search advertising business (here’s our report on Google Fiber), the tech giant risks running afoul of anti-trust regulations and attracts greater regulatory scrutiny with each acquisition more »

  • Why Does Wall Street Love This Energy Stock?

    By Soroush Pour - August 31, 2012 | Tickers: HAL, RES, SLB, SPN, WFT

    From the tech high-flyers to stable utility companies, everyday investors are wise to consider how Wall Street views every stock in their portfolio.  Equally, analysts’ ratings can be used to separate the bullish bets from the bearish ones, so to speak.  In addition to this little-used indicator, one measure of sentiment that goes underappreciated is the relative change in ratings revisions.  When combined with a bargain-hunting approach, these strategies mesh more »

  • Buyers Beware: Two Large Caps With Growing Short Interest

    By Soroush Pour - August 30, 2012 | Tickers: FB, LNKD, MCD, SONC, YUM

    In the wide world of investment analysis, there are dozens of methods that can be used to determine the attractiveness of a particular stock. Indicators like trading volume, price volatility, and valuation metrics are some of the most popular (read here for more info); though we’re here to tell you that short selling activity should be on your radar as well.  In layman’s terms, a stock’s short more »

  • Fresh Off its New Partnership, Is Baidu a Good Investment?

    By Soroush Pour - August 30, 2012 | Tickers: BIDU, GOOG, SINA, SOHU

    A few weeks ago, we discussed Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) acquisition of Frommer’s, which is expected to expand the tech giant’s footprint in the travel search industry.  This move, coupled with the company’s earlier purchases of Zagat and ITA Software, has proven that Google is moving beyond its basic search engine services.  Interestingly, Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), the largest search provider in China, has proven that it too more »

  • 3 Facebook Developments You May Have Missed

    By Soroush Pour - August 30, 2012 | Tickers: FB, GOOG, LNKD, ZNGA

    Since its IPO in May, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has been a downright disastrous investment, losing nearly half of its overall value in a time when the technology sector has provided double-digit gains.  While talk of NASDAQ computer glitches and CEO compensation has dominated the social media giant’s news feed, Facebook’s real issue is monetization.  As we discussed in this report, the company is searching for ways to diversify more »

  • The Different Trajectories of the Tech Elite

    By Soroush Pour - August 29, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, BBY, FB, GOOG, MSFT

    Believe it or not, there was a day when Apple really just was a fruit (and without a missing bite), and Google and Microsoft were inscrutable words that would have induced bemused laughs even at the cocktail parties of tech executives.  If you are reading this, you are all but guaranteed to have used products of at least one, if not more, of those companies to reach this page. Everyone more »

  • Despite its Gains, Cisco is Still Undervalued

    By Soroush Pour - August 29, 2012 | Tickers: CSCO, FFIV, HPQ, JNPR, RVBD

    Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), the world’s largest supplier of data networking software and equipment, has been in the news for all the right reasons over the past month.  On the heels of a better than expected fourth quarter earnings report, in which the company reported an adjusted EPS ($0.47) above the Street’s expectations ($0.45), the stock has risen more than 10% in two weeks. In addition more »

  • Jim Simons’ Favorite Pharma Duo

    By Soroush Pour - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: BMY, LLY, JNJ, PFE

    As one of the most successful hedge fund managers of the past 50 years, Jim Simons has truly built an investment-driven empire.  Simons’ Renaissance Technologies has a number of successful funds, most notably the Medallion Fund.  Since 1989, the $5 billion fund has generated an average annual return of 35% after fees.  Considering that typical performance fees have ranged from 20% to 44%, that is quite a feat.  Known for more »

  • The Mind-Blowing World of Secret Fast Food Menus

    By Soroush Pour - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: CMG, MCD, SBUX, WEN

    Editors note: Starbucks no longer carries Almond Syrup.

    Over the past few months, we’ve discussed the financial health of a number of culinary companies, from good ‘ole American burger joints to fast-casual dining stops.  While most of the previous conversation has centered on valuation metrics and cash flow analysis, it’s also important to take a more in-depth look at what’s for dinner.  Unbeknownst to the average restaurant more »

  • Here’s Why Chipotle Will Hit $360 By Christmastime

    By Soroush Pour - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: EAT, CMG, JACK, PNRA, YUM

    On the 16th of last month, we told you to “Stay Way from Chipotle, It’s a Growth Trap,” with the reasoning that the company’s earnings were trading at a ridiculously expensive premium, even by its standards.  We warned “the risk of a negative revaluation looks to outweigh upside potential at current price levels”, which were then flirting with the $400 mark.  Based on our calculations, a share more »

  • Pearson Started a College; Is It a Good Investment?

    By Soroush Pour - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: GCI, JW-A, MHFI, PSO, RUK

    Chances are, we’ve all read a book printed by Pearson (NYSE: PSO), one of the world’s largest educational, business, and consumer publishing companies.  Headquartered in London since its creation in 1844, the company also runs the Financial Times newspaper.  Since the recession, shares of PSO have returned more than 60%, outpacing the publishing industry’s average (14.2%), and in between competitors like John Wiley & Sons (NYSE: JW-Amore »)

  • Two of Ken Griffin’s Top Stock Picks

    By Soroush Pour - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, SCHW, ETFC, GOOG, MSFT

    As the founder of Citadel Investment Group, mega-fund manager Ken Griffin is in rarified air; his portfolio has amassed more than $50 billion in assets under management in a little over two decades.  As seen in this Top 10 list, Griffin’s fund is one of the largest in the world, behind icons like Ray Dalio and James Man.  Relying on a host of personally developed financial algorithms (related video more »

  • The Cheesecake Factory is a Delightfully Delicious Investment

    By Soroush Pour - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: EAT, DRI, DIN, RT, CAKE

    As a favorite dining spot of dessert devotees everywhere, Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) has been one of the restaurant industry’s highest flyers in recent years.  Since the recession, shares of CAKE have returned an average of 25.3% per year, outpacing the industry average (7.7%) and culinary competitors like Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) at 22.8%, and Brinker International (NYSE: EAT) at 8.9%.  This stock is a more »

  • 4 Stocks With Alarmingly High Short Interest

    By Soroush Pour - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: FSLR, JCP, OPEN, Z

    In the financial realm, short selling activity is an important indicator of the bearish sentiment surrounding a stock.  While a high level of short interest is not always a signal that investors should dump their shares, it should give them a reason to pause.  Now, in some cases, stocks with an extremely high short percentage of float (tradable shares) can also bounce upwards in a situation known as a “short more »

  • 5 Things to Know About Google Fiber

    By Soroush Pour - August 24, 2012 | Tickers: CMCSA, GOOG, TWX, TWC, DIS

    As of this writing, the United States has the second most Internet users in the world, clocking in at just over 245 million people, behind China (513.1M) and ahead of India (121.0M). In percentage terms, an estimated 78.3% of the American population has access to the Internet, which is far above the world average (32.7%), and slightly below Eurozone leaders like Germany (82.7%) and the more »

  • Is Yelp a Good Buy?

    By Soroush Pour - August 22, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, YHOO, YELP

    Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has recently acquired Frommer’s, a travel advisory service that publishes print guidebooks and offers Frommers.com to the masses.  The move, expected to be worth $23 million, will increase the tech giant’s footprint in the travel and local search industry.  With this latest purchase, Google is adding to an already formidable collection of leisure-related services, headlined by last year’s acquisitions of Zagat, a restaurant more »

  • Red Hat: Free Has Never Been So Lucrative

    By Soroush Pour - August 14, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, MSFT, ORCL, RHT

    In its 2012 fiscal year ended February 2012, Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) became the first open-source software company to report over $1 billion in revenue. The milestone caps years of consistent revenue and income growth and is both a strong indication that an open-source software business model can be lucrative and that Linux products can be serious competitors of proprietary offerings. If the company can maintain the business formula that more »

  • Hillshire Brands: Yet Another Spin-Off Success?

    By Soroush Pour - August 14, 2012 | Tickers: COP, HRL, KRFT, PSX, SLE, TSN

    From contrarian investing to Buffetology, there are many trading strategies being used in the financial markets today.  One tactic that usually flies under the radar is the spin-off play.  As we originally covered in the Kraft/Mondelez split, empirical evidence has shown that spin-offs: (1) outperform the market, (2) are underrated by Wall Street, (3) are undervalued immediately following the split, and (4) have typically been directed by highly motivated more »

  • Why is This Insider Buying Shares of Dole?

    By Soroush Pour - August 14, 2012 | Tickers: CQB, DOLE, FDP, LANC

    As the old adage goes, there are many reasons why a corporate insider would sell shares of their company’s stock, but only one, very bullish reason why they would buy.  In a financial world filled with uncertainty, insider trading activity can provide a good starting point for further research, and has proven to be a solid market-beating strategy time and time again.  Over the past decade, a range of more »

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